What can I say? These Fossil Ferns by Patricia Campbell have been a mainstay for blenders in my stash for almost 20 years. Here is the first box ever sent: 100 fat quarters (minus several I had already sewn with). Fossil Ferns The very first project I made for Benartex using Fossil Ferns was my Royal Star quilt . I was Special Projects Editor for Quilt Magazine at the time and fabric companies had begun sending us their fabrics and asking us to come up with something! I received a bundle in the late 1990s. I can still remember standing in my sewing/laundry room in Silver Spring, Maryland and thinking: What can I do with these GORGEOUS fabrics? Traditional quilt patterns have always inspired me. I took the vintage Royal Star block, changed out the center 9-Patch to rotary cut 2-1/2" squares and converted the corners to paper piecing! I sewed until I ran out of the small bundle of Fossil Ferns. Ready to stitch a Royal Star block That center is a 9 Patch that measures ...

CONTEST IS OVER and I'm in the process of getting contact information from my two winners. Many, many thanks to everyone who left a comment. I gave a sneak peek last week of these colorful, modern feeling fabrics called Geo Pop by Christa Watson. Remember? Geo Pop by Christa Watson for Benartex I finally got some time to cut and stitch some blocks which are a variation of the Seven Sisters block. Want to see what Seven Sisters is? Here are a whole bunch of Seven Sisters done by some amazing students in my class last year. Seven stars; seven sisters. Students from my Seven Sisters class last year I made a variation of the Seven Sisters using an older Benartex line called Sakura. Here are some of the units. Each is made of a 60 degree diamond and two 60 degree triangles. Seven Sisters units Then I put strips on the ends which make them very large blocks (16" high by 19" wide). I thought: table runner. But then I realized I have too many table runners....

Not sure why I have so many Halloween quilts, but I do! One of my favorites is a simple one made with my bat appliqué. Here she is finished. (OK. Maybe they're boys and girls; I'm not sure.) I ran this pattern back in 2012. It's time I ran it again, right? Bat Wreath block with striped binding and a few scary spiders Now for some steps and I'll give you the pattern, too! First, a TRUE story: When my husband and I were newly married (1977), living in Africa, we used to play guitars together after dinner. We would sit on the edge of the bed and croon our tunes. Out of the corner of my eye I caught some movement on the bed and then fear gripped me. A BAT WAS CRAWLING TOWARD US. Yikes! Phil took care of it and then when we went to the kitchen, we found another one floating in our pan of dishwater. Seems they came down this open vent and were looking for a warm place to settle down. Bats are NOT my favorite creature, but they do have a vital place in our ecosy...

I sewed this quilt for Benartex Fabrics in 2011 and it was published in a quilt magazine. I call it Fat Cats in the City . It is based on an appliqué cat pattern I designed for my 2006 Block a Day calendar. I gave each of the 4 cats a different tie. I think it's cute, don't you? Fat Cats in the City Personally, I'm not a cat person (I love dogs), but I think these cats transcend any animal preferences, don't you? I used raw edge appliqué for these 10" blocks. The quilt size is 41" x 41". A perfect size for a child! I took the outline of my Fat Cat and quilted inside it. I use this for my machine quilting classes. Fat Cat with my machine quilting doodles The pattern is a 4 page pdf in color as it appeared in the magazine. Enjoy! Fat Cats in the City .

Another day; some more quilts.  This first one I call Spinning Blades. Yes, this was stolen, too! Yikes. So many are up there in the Giant Quilt Rack in the Sky, waving at me, I think. This is paper pieced and then the curved pieced units are set into the curved/concave background pieces. All the blades spin in the same direction, with the turquoise and magenta colors alternating. The blocks are 5-1/2" and the entire quilt is only 27" square. I used several colors of Benartex Fossil Ferns. Spinning Waterwheels I did remake my Waterwheels quilt in black, red and white. I upsized the block (8") and made it quite a bit larger. It is a class I teach. I also created a mirror image block - can you see it? Spinning Waterwheels with larger blocks The next quilt is Fairy Love Ring. It is from my Coffee Filter Fans class from several years ago. Fairy Love Ring Here are some better photos of my Coffee Filter Fans quilt. This green quilt was published in a quiltin...

I love, love, love bright colors. The new Geo Pop  collection by Christa Watson for Benartex is just what I needed to inspire me. I have an idea, just not the time. Here are two pics of all 25 skus! What do you think? Geo Pop by Christa Watson  And each of the four prints in their color spreads: Geo Pop  by Christa Watson As I said, I have an idea (well, I actually have a LOT of ideas), but I'm traveling this week and had to get ready for that. Stay tuned for my tutorial. And, I was given TWO sets of these fabrics (thank you, Benartex warehouse), so I've decided to have a FABRIC GIVEAWAY when I post about these in the next week. I may even choose two winners. Stay tuned. More later. But, go check out the Geo Pop  fabrics online to see bigger pics of each fabric.

Another day, another set of quilts. Old? Yes! Still relevant? I hope so! How about some Tessellating Leaves? These two quilts use the same block and setting, with one in Christmas fabrics and the other which could be used for St. Patrick's Day. Tessellating Leaves : 22" x 22" And my Christmas Tessellating Leaves quilt. These are small blocks (4") but create that illusion of interlocking leaves because of the placement of the blocks with each other. Christmas Tessellating Leaves Where the Heck-o is My Gecko? Yes, that's the name of the next quilt. Just a half yard of a fun novelty print took on a life of its own when I began to play with stars and black fabric. While you may not be able to find a fabric with lizard-like geckos on it, just about any bright and funky print with a children’s theme would make anyone smile. The blocks are 6" and the quilt is 42" x 42". Easy to piece. Don't you love the arrows going every which-wa...

Are you ready for a few more quilts using some of my shortcuts? I think you'll like them. They're oldies, but still goodies! Remember, these are part of the 16 quilt patterns, 10 lessons, and 12 paper pieced flowers on ONE CD. Etsy carries it, too. You can actually see all of the quilts on my web site (if you can't wait for the next 3 days). Shortcuts descriptions and quilt pics Shortcuts from a Short Woman Some more appliqué is the feature of today. You've seen my Winding Ways quilts here before. This is one of the very first I made and I still have it! My editor went shopping in a quilt store and brought me stacks of bright fabrics and told me: Just sew! Oh, what fun I had. Winding Ways (Wheel of Mystery) This is also known as "Wheel of Mystery." These are 7" blocks and this is a perfect child's size quilt of 30" x 37". I converted the vintage block with 12 templates to a contemporary approach using a SINGLE background squar...